Grilling on Hibachis, BGEs, etc.

[hungryone]

Me, I use a Weber Smokey Mountain. It's an incredibly versatile and efficient cooker -- you can use it for long, indirect cooks, or re-jigger it for direct heat, or even "smoke-roasting".

Yeah, but you can't bake bread or cook a pizza on a WSM. I can do tandoori chicken & cook naan at the same time with a BGE; or grill lamb burgers and cook fresh pita. The damn thing was hideously expensive, and it's worth every cent.

[ratcheese]

I think a few of the bigger Backwoods come with a gas "option", but the smaller versions are charcoal and wood only -- I'm with you on the use of gas. And, competition bbq is definitely a different beast than what we do in the backyard. Memphis in May was an eye-opener -- I'm not bragging when I say I think I can make better ribs than most of what we tasted there. Just a statement about the judging criteria. There was a lot of "meat jello" and sweet-sweet sauce.

Me, I use a Weber Smokey Mountain. It's an incredibly versatile and efficient cooker -- you can use it for long, indirect cooks, or re-jigger it for direct heat, or even "smoke-roasting".

Yeah, I've seen some of it. Wow. You have to stop and consider that all this BBQ craze in the last few years has been largely driven by spreading the practice outside of the South. Many of the judges and participants are from New England (for example) and of course all the marketers love it and why not, its good for everyone; its not a bad thing unless you consider it a dumbing down...but I'm not even going there.

World of difference in a BGE and a Weber, crrush. I think it would be cool to have a cook/food writer see if one of the BGE reps would give them a BGE to cook on for a month or two, Maybe I'll suggest that to one of them. Ha! They'd probably give one to a good cook/writer for the PR value. (Make sure its a large size)

[hungryone]

I think it would be cool to have a cook/food writer see if one of the BGE reps would give them a BGE to cook on for a month or two, Maybe I'll suggest that to one of them. Ha! They'd probably give one to a good cook/writer for the PR value. (Make sure its a large size)

I've seen Steven Raichlen on TV using one, though he's sponsored by Weber, so he didn't make a big deal about it. Cook's Illustrated rated smokers in the July issue, and somehow they managed to rank the BGE as 2nd in smoking...counted off b/c it didn't have a water-pan option (snort, it doesn't need one) and b/c the results were "dry" (sounds like somebody didn't pay attention to the meat's internal temp...dry isn't the fault of the cooker, but of the cook, imho).

[Isabella Maja]

I've seen Steven Raichlen on TV using one, though he's sponsored by Weber, so he didn't make a big deal about it. Cook's Illustrated rated smokers in the July issue, and somehow they managed to rank the BGE as 2nd in smoking...counted off b/c it didn't have a water-pan option (snort, it doesn't need one) and b/c the results were "dry" (sounds like somebody didn't pay attention to the meat's internal temp...dry isn't the fault of the cooker, but of the cook, imho).

Hungryone, first, thanks for the pics.
They are perfect illustrations on why I should get a MGE!
What size pizza stones are those on your MGE?

Last night's dinner was the perfect time for me to announce that I wanted a MGE for my 50th BD this year. I had a rib eye, he had lamb chops (we went to Cleopatra) - both were tasty & a reminder of years ago when I grilled galore. Our dining companions didn't know what a Green Egg was & I was thrilled when MFDC begun to tell them! Apparently, he has been listening all these years & remembers me showing them to him in Mobile several times.

Who did Cook's Illustrated rate as #1?

BTW, next time you have tandoori chicken & naan, if you wouldn't mind snapping a few pix, that will probably be the thing that will seal the deal for me getting this for my birthday! Thanks, dawlin!

[hungryone]

Who did Cook's Illustrated rate as #1?

BTW, next time you have tandoori chicken & naan, if you wouldn't mind snapping a few pix, that will probably be the thing that will seal the deal for me getting this for my birthday! Thanks, dawlin!

The WSM (weber smoky mountain) ranked #1, but as anyone who owns one will tell you, WSMs require babysitting on long, low & slow cooks. The bigger BGEs, on the other hand, will burn for a long, long time at a low temp, so you can sleep thru the night while it cooks away.

Old Stone Oven sells, via Amazon, two 8.5 inch stones perfect for the Mini. I haven't cooked tandoori & naan simultaneously on my Mini, but on my Large BGE. On said large, I use a half-moon stone (sold by BGE) so I can grill & bake at the same time. Pics below as per your request; the tandoori chix wings & naan were part of my Superbowl Sunday cook.

Here's a shot of the pita & lamb combo:

And a third picture of combo cooking; this time, it's a slow-cooked boneless turkey breast on a raised grid, alongside a pan of roasted sweet potatoes.

[ratcheese]

Awesome pics!

Isabella, disregard what that guy said about a Weber > BGE. I suspect some commercial ties. No comparison in the two. Congrats if you get Roberto to spring for a BGE. Just keep reminding him of all the benefits he will receive for years to come.

[crrush]

Huge difference between a WSM and BGE, for sure -- in weight, $$ and cooking style. I don't have experience on a BGE, and if I had the funds and space, I wouldn't mind tinkering around on one.

I'm completely biased toward the WSM because it's what I learned on. IMO, the WSM is a great BBQ teaching tool. If you know how to use one, even a long, low & slow cook (pork shoulder, brisket) only requires one, maybe two, full restocks. I find the cooker more versatile and it produces the kind of BBQ I like. I like a little tooth and a lot of bark on my ribs, and the occasional temp. spikes (restocking charcoal or refilling water pan) you get with a WSM make these qualities possible.

Also, learning on a WSM really instills a 'bbq by instinct' process--you're not a slave to temperature and probes and an obsession with the right bbq temperature. You learn to read the charcoal and the meat and the cooker itself for signs, and respond accordingly, rather than this paint-by-numbers approach to exact times and temps.

The uber-consistency of the temp. in a BGE, IMO, doesn't allow for much fun or learning or variety. The 'set it and forget it' philosophy isn't a selling point for me -- I know it's not the same thing, but it reminds me of what you'd say about a Crockpot. Cooking is therapy for me...and I like getting involved in the process.

p.s. Was the CI ranking of cookers implying that a water pan adds moisture to meat? That's why the BGE bbq tasted dried out? I agree that this is a cook's error (or possibly a result of the meat itself--not enough fat?).

[hungryone]

The uber-consistency of the temp. in a BGE, IMO, doesn't allow for much fun or learning or variety. The 'set it and forget it' philosophy isn't a selling point for me -- I know it's not the same thing, but it reminds me of what you'd say about a Crockpot. Cooking is therapy for me...and I like getting involved in the process.

p.s. Was the CI ranking of cookers implying that a water pan adds moisture to meat? That's why the BGE bbq tasted dried out? I agree that this is a cook's error (or possibly a result of the meat itself--not enough fat?).

Oh, there's plenty of learning curve, variety, and fun in a BGE. The variety is the key selling point; it will low-temp-smoke, smoke-roast, bake, direct-grill, etc. The consistency thing is only do-able if you know how...lots of deep-pocketed, lightly skilled, instant-gratification-type buyers hate the things at first. They often lack the patience to fool around with it and forget that it is just a well-designed charcoal cooker; if you're the sort who always burns the chicken, it won't fix that problem.

Anyway, I haven't read the CI article, so I can't report first hand. Why would I trust a bunch of people in New England to know any damn thing about low n slow anyway?

[crrush]

Why would I trust a bunch of people in New England to know any damn thing about low n slow anyway?

Amen to that.

[ratcheese]

Googled Steve Raichlen to find out the guy wrote the BBQ Bible which has sold around 4 million copies, if I remember correctly. Big time commercial, gives expensive BBQ classes to people from Brooklyn and points beyond. Ahhh, NY publishing connections are a wonderful thing.

crrush, sounds like you're more into grilling than smoking. Insulation plays a huge roll in smoking. Not many bbq people cook on direct heat, its very inefficient and inconsistent. Good insulation in fireboxes and cookers make for prolonged, even burns, using very little wood/charcoal. But, you can smoke over direct heat with a BGE type Kamado for several reasons--low, sustained temps, insulated walls, convection type circulation, etc., which all serve to decrease the cooking time. You can actually smoke a good brisket on them. They are excellent examples of ancient clay oven design.

Which reminds me, my little ceramic Hibachi arrived yesterday. Oh, brother...I should start a Daily Countdown to see how long this thing lasts. I could own a decent sized junk yard if I had only saved the remnants of my bbq exploits over the years.